Fringe
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Verizon adds cult TV shows to its Go90 video service
Go90, Verizon's homegrown video network, is making a play for fans of cult TV all across the country after signing a deal with Warner Bros.. From today, the service is the new home of classic shows like Babylon 5, Fringe and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Then, in May, the beloved detective drama Veronica Mars will land on the service.
Fox Broadcast app now available to Xbox Live customers with Dish and FiOS subscriptions
Xbox Live frontman Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson) took to his blog on Tuesday to announce that Dish and Verizon FiOS customers can now download the Fox Broadcast app for Xbox 360 to stream next-day Fox programming. In order to use this free app, you'll need a paid Xbox Live Gold subscription. In addition to keeping you up to date with recent episodes of Fringe and Family Guy, this new app also includes access to legacy series such as House and 24. Like most things Xbox, the Fox Broadcasting app features Kinect integration, because everything is "better with Kinect," right?
Amazon, Warner deal brings Fringe, The West Wing to Prime Instant Video exclusively
The battle between Amazon's Prime Instant Video and Netflix Watch Instantly continues to heat up, with Amazon following up a slew of rollouts on new devices like the Xbox 360 and the addition of a queue by locking up some exclusive TV content from Warner Bros. According to the press release (included after the break) Amazon's agreement means episodes of Fringe and The West Wing will be "On Prime Instant Video First" and not on other streaming services for the summer. Stats show and Netflix has repeatedly indicated that subscribers view more TV content than movies on these types of services so content exclusives may become even more important differentiators. Other shows specifically named include Dark Blue, Alcatraz and The Whole Truth, hit up the Prime site to see any other less prominent names that may have escaped mention.
Screen Grabs: Are agents on Fringe flashing their Google Wallet?
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. We're not sure exactly what the FBI's standard issue kit consists of, but we imagine it has more than a few bits of secret tech. These screen grabs from this week's Fringe, however, would have us believe that the rogue agents like to pick up their tabs with what looks like Google Wallet. We can clearly see a Sprint-branded Galaxy Nexus being used to for a not-so-undercover financial transaction. At least it looks like the agents might have had an upgrade since we last saw them around these parts. Update: As many of you have pointed out, there was something wrong with our own intel on this case, and it wasn't one of the agents using the service. Perhaps the bureau isn't comfortable with e-wallets just yet. [Thanks, Te-je]
WRUP: Return to "over there"
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! Hello again. It's me, Faux Van Allen. Pull up a seat, ladies and gentlemen. It's been a long time. Five months ago, the blogger you know as Fox Van Allen ventured to a place you may know as over there -- a parallel universe where there's a second version of everything, people included. The airplanes of your universe are zeppelins in ours. And the website you know as WoW Insider is known as Wow.com over here. At least, it was known as Wow.com up until last month. It's now known as wowgame.nbci-xoom.com/warcraft. (Long story.) Dear friends, I'm afraid we're really in it up to here. It seems that someone -- and darned if any of us can remember who -- tore a permanent hole between this universe and the one over there. Since then, the WoW Insider team and the Wow.com team are in regular contact, sharing information to help bring you the latest news. But it seems that this is less than useful. They've never even heard of the Yellow Dragonflight. And their "death knights" as a hero class? What that hell is that? That doesn't even make sense. What's really weird, though, is this bizarre yet sad flicker I keep seeing out of the corner of my eye, like there's someone else around, someone who belongs and yet is so terribly out of place at the same time. A dangerously underweight flicker that likely needs treatment for malnutrition. It's like the universe is trying to correct some kind of mistake that we can all agree doesn't need correcting at all. Strangest thing. Anyway, though we've seemingly got all those universe-devouring wormholes from May under control, we've still got issues with quantum entanglement regarding the over here and over there versions of WRUP. Don't worry, though, we've got a lot of creepy, bald-headed technicians working on the issue as we speak.
Screen Grabs: Kyocera Echo goes back to the alternate-reality future in Fringe
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. We liked the Kyocera Echo quite a bit, but perhaps the dual-screen tabletphone concept is a mite ahead of its time -- here it is fifteen years from now, helping the Fringe team pull up security blueprints for an opera house. Or perhaps Astrid has become a vintage technology connoisseur? We have to admit it's a step up from the Streak seismograph, but we can't help but frown -- we wouldn't be caught dead running Froyo in the year 2026, after all. [Thanks, Prince C.]
Screen Grabs: Dell Streak serves as seismograph on Fringe, Android nowhere to be found
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. It ain't the first time Dell's Streak has been featured on a major network drama, but it's probably the last where it's used as a makeshift seismograph. Olivia managed to discover some fairly otherworldly facts with the use of this here handheld on a recent episode of Fringe, but mum's the word on whether she'll survive this season. You know -- the Friday slot. [Thanks, Michael]
The Queue: The one with the dungeons and the dragons
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Today's edition is being published from alternate universe -- one in which coffee is expensive, sheep are extinct, and Nixon is on U.S. currency. With Mike Sacco busy managing his foul-smelling, short hair, your host for today will be Gov. Fox Van Allen. Everyone remembers their first role-playing game. For some, it was World of Warcraft. For others, it was Pokemon. For me, it was a game of Dungeons & Dragons at summer camp. Sure, it wasn't what you'd consider a traditional game. A lot of the monsters we fought had fart-based powers, and one of our quests involved finding magical berries that would give us the power to touch breasts. Our first (and only) game devolved into an uninteresting mess, and we gave up after being trapped in a poorly designed maze. Still, we did get to roll dice all the time, which I found to be really cool. And not just regular dice, either. Twenty-sided dice. Whoa. ZeroDesu asked: When is Fox Van Allen going to do another Queue segment? I do so enjoy his writing style. And his fashion style. He's just one very stylish man in general. (Yes, this is just shameless prostrating in hopes that he'll read this and do The Queue tomorrow because of it.) Today! Shameless prostrating before Fox Van Allen always works. But only on Mondays, because everyone else hates writing queues on Mondays.
Breakfast Topic: Did Arthas do the right thing in Stratholme?
As we've discussed before, the Culling of Stratholme did slow the spread of the plague. But it's heartbreaking to watch Arthas slaughter innocent townspeople when they are looking to him for help. Wouldn't it have been better if he had waited for them to turn into scourge before killing them? Or was there a better way? Should they have tried quarantining them until a cure could be found, perhaps? (Even though there isn't one.) It's a bit like a recent Fringe episode. Was it evil to consider killing all of the people infected with an extremely intelligent, contagious and fast-spreading disease? How do you deal with deciding between compassion for a few versus the survival of a race? Could the ruthlessness that Arthas showed there be a symptom of weak morals that perhaps led to his demise as a human? Or was his swift, decisive action an example of his excellent leadership qualities and why he makes such a successful Lich King? Perhaps doing the right thing in Stratholme weakened his soul, making him more susceptible to corruption. How should Arthas have behaved in Stratholme? Did his actions help corrupt him or show him to be already corrupted? What would you have done in the same situation?
Android goes Canadian: Rogers launches HTC Magic and Dream
We knew exactly when the revolution was coming, and come it did. Just as promised, Rogers Wireless is now selling the Android-powered HTC Dream and HTC Magic, which marks the first official entry of the Google-built OS into the Great White North. Both handsets are ready to dabble in the Android Market and surf on the carrier's 3.5G network; all that's left for you to do is hand over $149.99 on a three contract and nab a box of Tim Hortons donuts. Mmm, donuts.
Fringe: Season One has some Blu-ray exclusives in store September 8
Warner Home Video has finally officially slated the Fringe: Season One Blu-ray set for September 8, and included a few details about what to expect on the 5 disc set. The audio tops out with a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, but there will be a special Fringe Pattern Analysis extra bringing in "experts" to dissect 6 select scenes with notes photos and diagrams aimed to fill the hearts of those dedicated enough to spot The Watcher Observer in each episode and decode the symbols that flashed before each one. Also included to go above and beyond the DVD experience are BD-Live powered treats with Media Center, My Commentary and a somewhat vague note about exclusive commentary on the season finale with creator JJ Abrams. Feel excited enough to drop the $79.98 MSRP ($55.99 on Amazon)? Check after the break for an animated .gif of the lenticular packaging if you need just a little (really little) more incentive.
Screen Grabs: Fringe's Olivia Dunham investigates zombies with Samsung BlackJack II
Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. Given the scrutiny which Barack Obama underwent, you'd expect Fringe's Olivia Dunham -- who's responsible for matters far more serious than "fixing economies" and "creating domestic stimulus packages" -- to use some sort of highly specialized Sectera Edge for work. But given that AT&T sponsors her program, we suppose the FBI has made an exception here. As you can see, she (and her partners) were recently caught wielding Samsung's BlackJack II (and getting perfect reception on AT&T) while investigating the spontaneous morphing of humans. Turns out, this nifty little live video trick helped lead to some resolution in her life, but we'll spare you the spoilers.%Gallery-44358%
Blast from the Past: Lunatic Fringe
If you're a long-time Mac user, the words "After Dark" conjure memories of flying toasters, Star Trek, city lights, and -- my favorite -- Lunatic Fringe. Lunatic Fringe was a Maelstrom-like game built-in to After Dark, a screen saver utility for Mac and Windows popular in the early- to mid-90s. Fringe Player, from Sealie Software, is a app that brings Lunatic Fringe back to your new, Intel-based Mac. It supports Leopard, and there is a version for PowerPC processors as well. You have to obtain the original screensaver module separately, however. You can get the module from your original After Dark disks (or online, if you're clever with the Google.) Now if you'll excuse me, my Friday afternoon is suddenly spoken for.
